Many, many years ago, my husband (then boyfriend) and I purchased a houseplant for my condo. It was similar to plants I looked at everyday at work - a Pothos, also called a devil's ivy or variegated philodendrum. It's latin name is Epipremnum aureum and it grows vines with leaves that are either bright green or variegated in white, yellow or paler green. Every office space I ever worked in featured these green plants sitting atop the rows and rows of file cabinets. Pothos are one of the best houseplants for purifying air and are able to thrive in lower light. No wonder it's a popular office plant!
Petey hanging in the bathroom of our first house.
We were hopeful that we would keep our pothos alive. He (we named him Petey) did stay alive. In fact, he thrived. Years later, I read that pothos are nearly indestructible, making them ideal for busy, non-plant people and those with black thumbs. Ha. Clearly it was not just my hidden gardening abilities that kept him around.
Over the years, we've propagated Petey (and his offspring) hundreds of times. Propagating pothos is so easy that I've never needed to purchase another one outright. Keep reading to see how you can propagate your own pothos too.
Locate a vine on the healthy pothos with a section at least 4-5 inches and containing at least 2-3 healthy leaves.
Healthy vine ready to propagate
Cut just below the root node using snips or scissors. Note: Root nodes are little brown bumps below each leaf. This is where the new root system forms.
Root Node on pothos vine
Remove the bottom leaf and place the cutting in a cup, glass or vase. Pour enough clean water to cover stems and root nodes. Add liquid fertilizer if you want. Note: Do not submerge any leaves.
Keep cuttings in a bright location, out of direct sunlight and add water as needed. Result: The cutting will sprout a root in about a week or so.
Pothos clippings sitting in water, growing new roots.
Root grew out of node - this cutting is ready to pot.
Because I prefer to decorate with live houseplants, rather than silk, as much as possible, I use lots of Petey's offspring throughout my house. Once the cuttings sprout roots, I either plant the cuttings in dirt or place them in a vessel with rocks or glass beads to grow in plain old water.
That's right - plain old water. You don't ever need to place your pothos cuttings in soil for them to thrive. Pothos cuttings kept in vases or other vessels filled with river stones or glass beads are super easy to maintain and can live happily for years and years - as long as the root system stays in water and there is filtered sunlight.
Last week, I even reverse potted a plant - I removed a pothos from dirt and am now growing it in rocks and water. Seriously. Here's how I did it:
How to Grow a Pothos in Water:
Determine that your pothos plant is not happy in the dirt.
Note: I was not watering this this plant enough to keep up with the higher amounts of sunlight and warmth it received. So, the dirt was dry and pulling away from the sides of the pot, and the leaves were beginning to droop and yellow.
A not-so-happy pothos, potted in dirt.
Dry dirt pulling away from the pot - time to address this issue.
Remove plant and soil from pot. Tap root ball to remove dirt from root system using a trowel or shovel. Note: Do this outside or over a large garbage can.
Plant ready to shed its dirt.
Tap the dirt off the root system.
Place a few river rocks in the bottom of a container sized appropriately for the plant. Note: I used a large plastic container.
Place a single layer of rocks in bottom of container.
Place the pothos into the container and fill in with more river rock.
Place plant in container.
Arrange the plant to evenly distribute vines.
Place root nodes into the rocks - they will take root and strengthen the plant.
Pour water in the container high enough to cover roots, stems and nodes. No leaves should be in water.
Make sure no leaves are in rocks, just root nodes and stems.
Remove any yellow or dead leaves.
Remove dead and yellowing leaves, as well as any leaves that would be in water.
Conceal the container in decorative pot/vessel and place it in a bright location, out of direct sunlight and add water as needed. Result: You are done. You saved a plant from certain death and made your plant management routine a whole lot easier.
Pothos, reverse potted into rocks and water.
Within a few days, the leaves will perk up. As long as you keep water in the container, the pathos will trhive for years to come. Here is what the plant looks like one week post-reverse potting:
One week after reverse potting. Much happier!
Living with Pothos:
Below are some examples of how I've displayed my propagated pothos throughout the house, both in dirt and in water:
For as long as I've been a homeowner, I have considered carpenter bees a nemesis. They always seem to be hovering around, boring holes in my houses. Carpenter bees are known to target the same nesting location year after year. So, even though we would treat and repair carpenter bee nests in the trim work of our old house, they kept coming back. And, while they have never bitten or stung me, they are no really welcoming.
Carpenter Bee
Earlier this spring, I noticed a few carpenter bees hanging out around my porch. I inspected all around until I found the telltale, circular hole bored into a wooden shutter decorating a window directly above the front door. Carpenter bees are known to overwinter in the same nest in which they were born. And, the male bees protect the general nest area. That explains why they were out in early spring.
Carpenter bees nesting in a shutter above our front porch.
I noticed additional bees hovering around my back deck. Sure enough, I found a hole in the deck support. One day, I actually saw a bee fly into a hole under a stair tread.
Carpenter bee nest in deck support
The bees bored a hole into the untreated wood of a stair tread.
Historically, we've batted at carpenter bees using fly swatters. This spring, I decided to take more serious action. I researched online and found a video discussing carpenter bee traps. Wow!
I had never heard of a carpenter bee trap before. And, I could not believe how well it seemed to work. I discussed the trap with my husband. Making our own trap looked so easy (we are pretty handy after all). As inexpensive and easy as it seemed, our schedules just would not allow it to happen anytime soon. I researched a bit more and found a trap online for a decent price. A few clicks later, I had ordered two traps - one for the front of the house and one for the deck.
Note: The bee trap company offers kits for damming up the holes as well. I may consider it in the future - we usually just use wood putty, caulk and paint.
My order arrived within just a few days. I hung a single-hole trap near the front door, hidden from view by a shrub.
The second trap was hung under a stair leading to the deck.
Trap hung from stair tread.
This trap caught two bees in under a week.
Within four days, I had trapped two bees in the front of the house! I made sure the bees had 'expired' and then dumped them out. During that time, my husband and son killed two additional bees using the fly-swatter technique. I like to think my method was slightly more humane ;)
This fall, we plan to patch the damage left behind and pack the traps away for next spring. All in all, the carpenter bee trap was well worth the investment!
